Shinigami Prototype V2
by DJ Meltdown of Ground Xero
Summary: Ichigo has just won the winter war, but on the heels of that comes one which sends Ichigo and his friends to the heart of NYZ to save the world of the living and soul society with James Heller. and to fight the ultimate monster, ALEX MERCER. pairings Ichigo/Orihime and Rukia/ Renji and ?/James/? later on. (Adopted from Jason Grace son of Zeus)
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Prototype or Bleach

This takes place during the events of Prototype 2 and just after the Bleach winter war.

Chapter 1

"Damn that was close," said Ichigo Kurosaki as he looked down on the body of Ex-Captain Aizen's body slowly dissolved into dust. "But it's finally over. And I didn't have to use the final Getsuga Tensho". He was watching as Aizen's body dissolved and then noticed what had set this whole thing into motion floating a few inches above Aizen's body. The Hogyoku, which had the power to grant you your heart's desire, simply floated there looking for the entire world like a black marble. Ichigo grabbed it and held it tightly in his hand. "This needs to be sealed again," he thought "or this could easily happen again." But he couldn't think of it long before all the strength he had simply left him and he passed out on the ground with the sphere still clenched in his hand.

Ichigo woke up a few hours later in some place he didn't realize. "Oh god do I have a headache," he groaned as he slowly sat up in the bed he was laying in, holding a hand to his head as he looked around carefully. Ichigo's most distinguishing feature is his spiky orange hair, a trait he has been ridiculed about for years on end. He's a fairly tall, lean-built young man with peach skin and brown eyes The room, he saw, was both wide and long set up with several beds like his though unoccupied. The floor was wood with wooden beams running across the top of the room. Wide tall windows let in so that showed it to be sunset. The walls were white and he saw the symbol of the healing division of Soul Society on the wall. "So I'm in the hospital. Perfect." He said as the door across from his bed slid open to admit several people. The first through was Orihime, next was Chad, Uryu, Rukia, Renji, and then the head of 4th division, Unohana, all walked in with relief in their eyes.

In order, Orihime was a teenager of average height. She had brown eyes and long, waist-length burnt orange hair. Her most noticeable physical trait was her slender yet curvaceous figure for a teenager, especially in terms of her large breasts (this is all from bleach wiki; I have nothing to do with descriptions). She wore her hair in bangs tucked behind her ears with hairpins that looked like blue flowers with 6 petals each. Chad was dark-skinned with wavy brown hair that generally hung over his brown eyes. He was a muscular and extremely tall man and appeared to be much older than he actually was which is around was a bespectacled teenager of average height. He had straight, chin-length raven-colored hair framing both sides of his face, and fair-skinned with blue eyes. Rukia was short and petite, with light skin and violet-colored eyes. Her hair was black, with several strands of hair always hanging between her eyes. And Renji had brown eyes and long crimson hair, which is usually kept in a high ponytail with a head band hiding that tattoos he had in place of eye brows. He was tall too, around 6 feet 2 inches. Unohana was a slender and very youthful woman with blue eyes and black hair which, as always, was kept as a large braid in front. She rather looked like a gentle mother.

"Ichigo! Thank god you're alright," Orihime quietly yelled as she threw he arms around Ichigo and the others gather around his bed. "I was so worried." Orihime said as she held on tightly to him with her head buried in his chest. He gently hugged her back as he said "There's no way I would die. After all what would you do without me?"

He heard several snorts, coming from Rukia, Renji, and Uryu, while Chad merely chuckled and Unohana simply smiled like she always did.

"So what happened? I remember defeating Aizen…" Everyone present tensed as he said that and Orihime gently pulled backed to look at him, "and then taking the Hogyoku from him but after that I passed out and it's all just a blur"

Everyone was quite for a second before Rukia decided to speak up.

"We found you in the crater where you fought as Aizen's body was done dissolving and took you back her after Orihime healed you. But we couldn't get the Hogyoku out of your hand, you had it clenched too hard" she explained as she motioned toward his right hand.

He lifted said hand up and opened it. The Hogyoku simply sat there as everyone present looked at it. After a second he closed his hand again, as he thought of what to do with it. Then a thought struck him.

"What about the others?" he Said with worry in his voice as he looked around.

Unohana answered this. "After we put you to bed, myself and Orihime healed everyone we could. They are just fine, though I have to admit that Orihime's power is impressive to heal everyone and give back limbs to those that lost them."

Orihime blushed at the praise from the older woman and then turned to Ichigo.

"So how do you feel?" she asked in an anxious voice.

"Other than a headache, I feel great. So what's happening now?"

Renji grinned so wide, Ichigo thought his head would split in half. "Everyone's celebrating then end of the war. They also want to see you and thank you for your help. Ha-ha never thought I would see the day when the old man would be thanking someone for doing something he couldn't. Any ways if you're feeling fine then get dressed and let's go enjoy the party."

Ichigo glanced down and saw he was bare-chested. He quickly looked around and spotted his robes and Zangestu in its Shikai state laying on the bed right next to him. His sword looked like a cleaver as tall as he was, with no proper guard or hilt, which was wrapped in white bandages with a little hanging of the end.

"OK. Let me get dressed and let's go celebrate the end of this god forsaken war." He said with a grin on his face. He couldn't be happier at the moment. His friends were alive and well, the war was over, and Aizen was dead. Little did any of them know that soon they would be fighting a war more gruesome and horrific in the fast coming future? And one that would have just as much impact, if not more, than the winter war. Far worse…

 **A/N: hello friends. I am back from the dead. And with a little new pet project that I got from a good author on here. I know recently that I have been picking up several stories from author's that don't want them or can't finish them because of real life reasons. Trust me I know what it's like, being a working man and going to college, along with bills. It's a pain in the ass. But fear, not I have not abandoned my stories or ditched them. And to my DBZ/Kill la Kill readers I am almost finished with the chapter. So get ready.**

 **Anyways, Jason Grace son of Zeus let me adopt this story, so all credit and thanks go to him for it. That's about it. Read and Review.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I own nothing

"Wow. You weren't kidding about this party when you said everyone was celebrating." Ichigo said as he looked out on Soul Society's Gotei 13 barracks. He and his friends, along with Unohana, stood at the entrance to the 4th divisions barracks.

As far as the eye could see and all you could hear were people celebrating the end of the war and the death of Sosuke Aizen. People were dancing, drinking, and laughing in joy at it all coming to a close.

Rukia said "This has been going on for a while. The Captain Commander said that we had to head to Sōkyoku Hill at 12:00 A.M tomorrow for a ceremony to assign new captains. Until then everyone's just partying."

"Can't blame them. I am just glad this is over. Do you know where I could find Kisuke? I have a question I want to ask him about this." Ichigo replied.

He lifted his right hand and opened it for an instant to show the Hogyoku.

"No I haven't seen him since the celebrating started. I think he said something about talking to the commander for a minute. I'd say check the first division barracks." She looked a little nervous as she said this. She knew that the look in Ichigo's eyes would be the cause of a head ache later and she didn't want to have her night ruined.

"Thanks"

He flash stepped away leaving the group standing there.

Orihime scratched her red-orange hair with a finger and replied in a confused tone "I wonder what he has in mind for that thing."

Uryu spoke up with a slightly grim look on his face."Knowing him, something rash and shortsighted. Then again, if he could make good plans then he wouldn't be Ichigo to begin with."

Rukia and Renji both burst out laughing, Chad another chuckle, even Unohana let out a single laugh. Orihime looked like she was about to speak up in Ichigo's defense but Chad beat her too it.

"Maybe so, but then again we wouldn't be where we are now. All of us are here thanks to Ichigo."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They all knew that Ichigo had changed things for the better by being himself.

He had saved Rukia from being executed, awakened Chad and Orihime's power, brought friends into Uryu's life, and help lighten the laws and strictness in Soul Society. And of course saved both the World of the Living and Soul Society by defeating Aizen.

"Let's trust Ichigo. He has yet to lead us down the wrong path."

 _(With Ichigo…)_

Ichigo walked down the streets of the first division barracks, heading to the main building to look for the Captain Commander and Kisuke. He walked through the door and was lucky enough to find them in the entrance hall, talking in hushed voices and seeming agitated for some reason.

The commander had the appearance of an old man with red eyes, a very long white beard, and long eyebrows. There were many scars on his bald head, the two most prominent being a pair of long, perpendicular scars above his right eye, forming a sideways x, and suggesting numerous battles in his past.

And Kisuke was a tall, lean-built man with light skin and gray eyes. His hair is messy and light-blond (almost pale), with strands framing the sides of the face and hanging between his eyes, and he had chin stubble. He wore his usual clothes and a black coat, which sported a white diamond pattern along its bottom half, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath while wearing wooden sandals and his striped dark green and white bucket hat, which usually shadowed his eyes.

"Am I interrupting something?"

They looked toward him as he walked toward them. The captain commander looked at him calmly while Kisuke smile his usual goofy grin and hid it behind his fan.

"Ah, there he is the hero of Soul Society. Feeling any better?"

"Much, thanks to Orihime's healing and some sleep. What about you two?"

"Oh, nothing she and some rest couldn't fix."

The commander spoke up next, his voice reminding Ichigo of boulders rubbing against one another.

"I am well. Though I am thankful that she was able to restore my arm."

The commander had used his left arm in order to use a sacrificial kido in his fight against Aizen, but sure enough his arm was resting on his cane in front of him along with his other hand.

"Good. Now I had a question for you Kisuke."

"Shoot."

"I had an idea for what to do with this…" he lifted his right hand, palm open, to show them what he had, "But I need you help in order to make it work. And if you agree with it."

They both looked at the Hogyoku and then back at him and the look of determination in his eyes. The Commander opened one of his eye's to look at him with a calculating look, while Kisuke dropped his fan to show a slight grimace at seeing his creation.

"What was your idea?"

"I want to be able to place this in a small pocket dimension. One that only you and I would have access to."

Kisuke blinked. He thought it over for a few minutes. He wasn't expecting Ichigo to come up with something like this. After all it was a somewhat decent idea.

"Hhmm. That's not a bad idea. But I wouldn't be able to do it in a manageable amount of time, nor would I be able to make it so only you or I could get it without more tests then I would care to run."

The commander said "why should we allow you to be able to place an object of this power in a space that only you and Urahara would be able to retrieve it at any time you choose?"

" Because it's better to have it in the care of only a few people who care more about the welfare of others then to have it in a place in where any who may succumb to temptation and attempt to use it may take it if their bold enough to try. If this was left, even under heavy guard, there would be no end to the number of people that would try to steal it for their own selfish desires."

The commander looked at him. He saw and heard the honesty and conviction in the voice and eyes of the young human before him. He was an oddity. He was a Shinigami, a human, Visored, and barely 17 years of age, yet he had been pushed to every limit there was and gained power that only a select few of very old Shinigami would achieve and experience.

Ichigo looked back with a calm expression. He waited while the commander inspected him. He felt deep in his heart the need to protect the people from themselves and other from the corruption of power and pride that had befallen Aizen. He was determined to find a way to remove the Hogyoku from the reach of others for their own good.

Suddenly there was a glow of white light from the Hogyoku. Everyone present looked at it as Ichigo quickly lifted it up.

"What the…"

Then they heard a deep voice. It was a voice that had the weight of power, experience, and wisdom. It was the voice of the Hogyoku.

"What is your wish master?"

Ichigo blinked.

Kisuke blinked.

The Commander open his eyes then blinked.

Ichigo had a stunned look on his face. Master? Wish? WTF?

"Kisuke, what's going on?"

He looked just as stunned as Ichigo did. In fact he looked at him and back at the Hykogen several times before he spoke.

"Unless I'm really getting old and hard of hearing, the Hogyoku just called you master."(Thank you captain obvious)

"NO FREAKING SHIT! Why would it think I'm its master!?" Ichigo replied with an irritated look on his face.

"Because it understands your heart. That's what its power is. It will grant the wish of the person who has the strongest heart it can understand. And your desire to protect others along with the immense spiritual pressure you have, it recognizes you as its master and will do your will."

Ichigo looked at it in shock. Was his heart really that powerful? So powerful that even the Hykogen would do his will? His eye's cleared and left determination. There was only one way to find out.

"I wish that you would go to another space. One where no one but Kisuke Urahara and I would be able to retrieve you from, and replace you in, at anytime, anyplace.

"Yes, master"

A bright flash blinded everyone present. When they could see again they saw that the Hogyoku was gone.

Ichigo concentrated on an image of the Hogyoku as a test. A small black hole open before them and residing in the darkness was the Hogyoku. He reached in and grabbed it. The hole closed after he removed his hand. As he focused on the Hogyoku disappearing, it vanished.

"Well…that worked."

The others stayed quite for a moment in order to gather their thoughts. They couldn't believe what just happened.

"Um… well that worked so I guess I'll go enjoy the party if it's all the same with you." He turned to leave.

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

Said person turned to face the Commander as he looked at him with an unreadable expression. Slowly the commander offered his hand to Ichigo.

"Thank you."

Smiling, he reached out and shook the commander's hand. "No need. I did what was right."

He then turned walked out of the building and then flash stepped to find his friends.

 _(With Captain Commander and Kisuke…)_

"That kid is one of a kind"

Kisuke felt pride in seeing Ichigo being able to control the Hogyoku and how he had grown from being that young boy fallen in the rain to the man he now was.

"Indeed. But we have more pressing matters to attend to I'm afraid. Are your sources sure of this information?" the commander said with a grim expression.

Kisuke's face fell as they were brought back to the conversation they had been having before Ichigo walked in.

"Yes. They not only saw it firsthand but they work in a high enough rank in the organization that's working this threat to go undetected and want a way out. I'm afraid that what we feared has come to pass. The Blacklight Virus from the first outbreak in New York is back. And with it will come nothing but a wave of death and destruction."

"How long before the number of souls passing will be too high to allow and desperate action must be taken?"

"Given the time frame of the last outbreak, we have at most 2-4 months, human world time. Soul Society time would be about 14-28 months. And we have no other option but to send him if we want to have a chance of countering this."

"Very well. We will tell him after a few days. Ichigo Kurosaki will need his rest in order to be ready to fight this infection."

"Indeed he will" Kisuke replied with a serious look on his face as he contemplated the information that they had gathered about The Blacklight Virus.

" _Ichigo get ready for a heck of battle kid. You're gonna need some luck out there"_

With that thought in mind Kisuke turned to Yamamoto. "Well Captain I'll be going now."

Yamamoto nodded and replied "Very well. Enjoy yourself tonight"

Kisuke chuckled. "That I will."

With that he flash stepped away.

 **A/N: well here's another chapter. Have a good night.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I own nothing

Division 10 barracks

"IS THIS A PARTY OR WHAT!?"

The person who yelled this was the slightly drunk, and attractive, Rangiku Matsumoto, Lieutenant of the 10th division and the person who had the idea of holding a party in the barracks. Rangiku was a woman with long and wavy blond hair, blue eyes, full lips, and a beauty mark located under the right side of her mouth. She was well known for her curvaceous figure, her most distinctive feature however was her very large breasts.

Needless to say she hadn't consulted her captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya beforehand. And he was not pleased.

"MATSUMOTO! YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS! AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE YOU DRUNKEN IDIOTS!" however because of his "vertically challenged" build, he was ignored. He was, for lack of a better word, a boy with turquoise eyes and short, spiked, white hair and only about 4foot 4 inches.

"Aw don't be like that Toshiro. Enjoy the party."

"THAT'S CAPTAIN HITSUGAYA TO YOU! AND I WILL NOT…" The rest of this sentence was cut off as she hugged the captain's head to her chest, effectively cutting off his speech and air supply.

"Now captain I think you need to learn to relax a little bit and just enjoy life."

"MM. NEED…..AIR."

This was ignored as she kept talking. "You take things to seriously all the time and need to loosen up. I'm sure that Hinamori would appreciate if you asked her out and… Captain?" she just noticed that he had passed out after struggling for a few seconds from lack of air and now had swirled lines for eyes.

"Aw poor Captain he must be more tired than he let on to fall asleep in a place like this" Showing her lack of knowledge of the power of her chest when used in a certain way. She quickly went to his room and out him on the bed.

"Sleep tight captain"

She left the room and proceeded to enjoy the party for the rest of the night.

The next day

Rukia quickly swung by the 10th division in the morning and quickly let herself in. she found that several people were passed out on the floor.

"HEY! WAKE UP! EVERYONE HAS TO BE AT THE SOKYOKU HILL IN 20 MINUTES!"

Everyone started to stir and stand. After a minute they all stood looking tired and several looked hung over.

"Do we have to go?" some random person asked as he stood.

"YES!" she yelled, mindless of the people's exhaustion and hangovers. "EVERYONE IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND! NOW GET YOUR SORRY BUTTS MOVING BEFORE THE COMMANDER DECIDES TO HAVE YOU ON CLEANING DUTY!" the next thing she knew everyone had vanished as they used Flash-Step to disappear.

"DAMN IT, WAIT FOR ME!" She too flash stepped to get there in time

1 hour and 30 minutes later

'How long is this going to take?'

That was all that was on Ichigo's mind as he listened to the long, long, loooonnnnggg speech that the commander had begun at the beginning of the gathering. Something about the traditions of Soul Society and strength of the captains overcoming the odds, the values of teamwork and friendship, and the dangers and consequences of taking power by force. Really it was endless. Until…

"And now, I will assign captains to each division. When I call your name, come up and take your captains robe."

"I appoint Suì-Fēng as captain of the 2nd division."

"I appoint Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi (Rose) as Captain of the 3rd division."

"I appoint Retsu Unohana as captain of the 4th division."

"I appoint Shinji Hirako as captain of the 5th division."

"I appoint Byakuya Kuchiki as Captain of the 6th division."

"I appoint Sajin Komamura as captain of the 7th division."

"I appoint Shunsui Kyōraku as captain of the 8th division."

"I appoint Kensei Muguruma as Captain of the 9th division."

"I appoint Tōshirō Hitsugaya as captain of the 10th division."

Here there a slight bump in the proceedings. Despite his name being called Toshiro wasn't seen walking up.

Everyone started to whisper and move restlessly.

"Where the heck is he?" Rukia said, looking impatient as everyone else.

"I wonder if he's…nah he can't be" Matsumoto said as she shook her head.

"Can't what?"

"Well last night during the party I was talking to him while hugging him, but he fell asleep while I was talking

so I put him to bed."

"More like he passed out from lack of air. Maybe fell into a coma cause of it." Ichigo thought as he gave a slight shudder. He was learning to fear the power of Matsumoto's chest.

Seconds later Toshiro appeared in front of the commander. He took a quick bow of apology and took his robe, then moved into line with the other captains that had been called. Ichigo noticed that he was sending a look that said "your life is going to be a living hell from now on" toward Matsumoto which she was ignoring or couldn't see.

2 minutes ago

"HUUUUHH. AIR" gasped Toshiro as he awoke from the coma that near death suffocation had put him in. he sat up as he looked around his room to get his bearings. He glanced at the clock.

"1:18 P.M!" he said. Then the previous night came back to him, along with all the anger. He let it all loose in a voice that sounded like a dragon roaring to the heavens. "MATSUMOTOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'

Present time

The Commander coughed his throat to get back everyone's attention "Moving on. I appoint Kenpachi Zaraki as Captain of the 11th division."

"I appoint Mayuri Kurotsuchi as Captain of the 12th division."

"And I appoint Jūshirō Ukitake as Captain of the 13th division."

"Now that the captains are assigned I want to add something. While all of the people who fought in the winter war are brave and powerful, something I am proud of, I want to acknowledge the one who ended the war. The one, who fought to the bitter end, helped his friends when he could, and finally killed the traitorous Sosuke Aizen. I would like to acknowledge the hero of the winter war and Soul Society, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Everyone there burst into cheers at the words of the captain commander and turned to applaud Ichigo as he stood there looking shy and embarrassed at the attention of so many people.

"Furthermore I would like to extend a proposal to Ichigo Kurosaki to have him properly educated in the use of kido and healing spells as well as train him myself in sword work while sharpening his use of Shunpo (proper name of Flash Step)."

To call it silence would be an understatement. The wind itself had fallen silent as the commander finished talking. Ichigo looked at the commander with eyes bigger then dinner plates and pupils making up most of that. He knew what an honor it was to train under the commander and he was struck by the generosity he was showing him.

He walked forward and stood before the commander. He then sank into a deep bow and said in an awed voice "I thank you for the offer, captain commander Yamamoto. And I am happy to say I accept."

The commander let a rare smile come across his face as he watched at the teen rise up and looked at him. He would never say this out loud but the boy reminded of himself when he was young. The same drive, energy, and limitless potential. And he was determined to help him reach it. For many reasons.

"Good. I have discussed a training method with your teachers already. You will learn the kido spells for Hachigen, the healing from Unohana, Shunpo for Yoruichi, and as I said I will teach you in sword work. If it is acceptable to you the new training can begin immediately. "

Ichigo nodded "it is."

"Good. Then that concludes this ceremony. Everyone, you have the rest of the day off. Ichigo, I will see you in several hours. Dismissed."

The commander then flashed stepped away, leaving everyone to stare at Ichigo who felt small under the gaze of over 80,000 death gods.

Well uh…isn't this awkward?" Ichigo said with a nervous chuckle before walking over towards his friends, who were not too far away.

Orihime was the first one to congratulate him as soon as he approached. When he stopped in front of them, she gave him a bear hug tackling him to the floor, landing on top of him.

Ichigo let out an "OOF!" as he realized he was on the floor. He looked up to see Orihime on top of him and his face turned a bright shade of red.

"Good job Kurosaki-kun" Orihime said with a smile on her face.

"T-thanks Orihime" Ichigo stuttered as they both stood up.

The others walked over to Ichigo as well and gave him pats on the back or a handshake.

After that Ichigo and the others were walking back to their rooms for the day. As they were walking away Ichigo looked up to the sky with an grin on his face.

" _It seems things are finally starting to look up after all"_ he thought with a positive attitude.

Little did he know how wrong those words were and what troubles he and his friends will soon be facing.

 **A/N: alright here is chapter 3**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Rukia walked along the path to the kido training grounds whistling a tune with a grin on her face. She was in such a good mood because of Ichigo's recent gift of training and was happy for him for being able to sharpen his skills. Also he provided a good laugh when he screwed up.

"Hey Rukia"

She turned to see Renji walking up to her and then beside her to the training grounds.

"Hey Renji. Coming to laugh at Ichigo too?"

"Heck yeah. I wouldn't pass this up for anything. It's hilarious to watch him trying to master kido. He keeps blowing himself up."

"Like a certain somebody with red hair for every 4th Hado spell he casts?" Rukia said with a grin on her face as Renji turned as red as his hair.

"Ha-ha. Very funny. In any case how's Ichigo's training going?" At that exact moment there was a small explosion followed by a yell that sounded like a wounded bear.

"Sounds like not to well."

They came to the grounds to find Ichigo stomping out the fire set to his robes while Hachi was standing on the edge of the 10-foot crater Ichigo's spell had caused. Hachi was a very large and rotund man. He wore his usual attire of an olive-green tuxedo with a yellow bow tie. He had golden eyes, a pink mustache and pink hair with a black cross-bone design in the center.

"DAMMIT! I ALMOST HAD THAT ONE!" Ichigo yelled as he finally put out his robes.

"You're doing very well overall. You have only had 2 days of training and yet have mastered Hado and Bakudō up to level 70, your healing is above that of an average healer, and you have much better finesse and control of your sword. Your growth is nothing short of extraordinary by any terms." Ichigo looked a little proud of himself, though it was a trick since his robes smelled like smoke and his face slightly black from soot and dirt.

"And the explosions you make always make for a great laugh." Rukia managed as she and Renji were rolling

on the ground laughing while holding their sides in pain.

"All right." Ichigo muttered. "If you like the explosions then you're going to love this dangerous little spell I've mastered."

He got into a stance, raised his fist with the index finger pointing upward, and began to chant. "Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth…" the rest was muttered as a black fog began to drift from where Ichigo stood.

Rukia and Renji stopped laughing and quickly stood up as they felt a dark and violent energy behind the spell.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING? HACHI, WHAT'S GOING ON?" Renji yelled. He felt the power and malicious aura behind the spell taking place.

Hachi himself was a little stunned. "That stance and power… it resembles…..OH CRAP!" "RUN! IT'S HADO #90 Kurohitsugi (Black coffin)! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Everyone looked at Ichigo in horror as black boxes formed and began to move forward.

"SHIT!" that was the collective word as they all used flash step and every sane creature at the training fields ran in sheer terror.

"Hehe. Suckers." Ichigo chuckled as he dispersed the spell with a thought. He had learned this spell from the one time Aizen had used it to try and kill him.

"Always did learn faster when someone was trying to kill me. Thanks Aizen." He felt a little gratitude for the Ex-Captain teaching him this, even if unintentionally.

And that was how the next week was spent. By the end of said week he had mastered every single spell there was, became a healer just below Unohana herself and the old man taught him how to properly use his sword to the fullest potential. And he could keep up with Yoruichi going at full speed. And the next day when he was called to talk to the commander he was given a mission that would send him and his friends to the heart of what was now being called NEW YORK ZERO.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I own nothing

"Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Uryū Ishida, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora "Chad" Sado, and Renji Abarai. Please report to the Captain Commander immediately. He is waiting for you in his office."

This was the message that they received as a hell butterfly flew past them. They all wondered what the commander wanted to see them for and all quickly went to his office in the First Division Headquarters.

When they arrived they all entered and stood at attention before the commander as he sat in his desk with his hands supporting his chin as he leaned forward.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. First, before we begin, I want to congratulate you, Ichigo, on completing your training. Have you mastered all your lessons?"

Ichigo nodded with a little bit of pride in his eyes. "Yes sir. I now am able to use all kido spells, including healing, sealing, and barrier spells, my flash step is now on level with Yourichi's. And thanks to you my sword work has improved in the time you spent training me. And for that I thank you."

Uryū muttered to Chad and Orihime standing beside him "it's a miracle that he mastered anything at all."

"WHAT? WHY I OUTTA…"

The commander spoke with an edge in his voice. "Enough. I have a difficult matter to resolve and also very little time to resolve it in. And I have decided to entrust it to you six."

That caused Ichigo to shut up with a surprised look on his face, as well as everyone else. Chad's hair hid his eyes so no one knew what he looked like, but the grunt he gave showed his surprise as well.

Rukia was the first to speak up. "Uumm… of course sir. But if I may, what is the task and why do you entrust it to us?" her question meet with nods all around.

"Because this is a very difficult and messy situation I'm entrusting you. And it is one that has the fate of both soul society and the world of the living in the balance."

"Indeed."

Everyone turned to look as Kisuke walked through the door. He looked at them with grim eyes. The lack of his usual aura of goofy happiness made everyone slightly nervous except for the commander.

"Thank you for coming Urahara. Maybe you could explain the situation better."

The former captain nodded. "Of course sir. If you would all follow me, I can show you while I explain."

They all left the room and followed Urahara as he lead the way to the head of the research and development building

They all walked in and went to one of the labs. There Urahara walked to the screen and typed something on the keyboard as he began explaining.

"How much do any of you know about something called the Blacklight virus?"

Everyone tensed a little as Ichigo spoke up. "That was the virus that hit New York City isn't it? It was released by a man called Alex Mercer who was said to be a crazy scientist according to the news. They also said that he was killed when he became trapped in Penn station after he released the virus there. It caused millions of deaths and forced the Americans to resort to a nuclear solution. But the bomb went off over the ocean. After that, the virus just seemed to die."

"Correct, except the news left out several key details. One was that the scientist who released the virus, Alex Mercer, worked for a company called Gentek, who worked in partnership with the military, and here is the real kicker. He wasn't killed in Penn station."

Everyone but the commander seemed shocked. "What?"

"The virus was more than the news made it out to be. The military division that worked with Gentek was called Black Watch. There a black ops division of the military. They were created for a purpose I'll explain later. And Mercer didn't create that virus from nothing. I couldn't create something that twisted, not even if I used all the resources in soul society. The virus was actually created by Black Watch and modified by Gentek."

Everyone there was stunned. Created by Black Watch and modified by Gentek?

Orihime spoke up next with something akin to horror in her eyes. "But why? For what purpose would they make something that twisted?"

Urahara sighed, looking very old all of a sudden. "It's for the same reason Azien stole the Hogyoku from me to satisfy his needs, the reason he betrayed us, and the reason so many died in the winter war. Power. The Blacklight virus was a different strain of the first virus that was created by Gentek. That strain was called Redlight. The goal was to create a weapon that could splice together human and animal DNA to create super soldiers. When they had created the virus they spent years testing it on animals. Then when they were ready, they released the virus on a small town called Hope, located in Idaho. The virus wiped out the town in over 2 weeks. When the virus infected someone they would become something akin to zombies, savage, mindless, and looking only for food and to spread the infection. When Black Watch used a nuclear solution to recover the town they found one survivor."

Renji asked in a whisper while looking disgusted and sadden by the loss of so many innocent lives. "Who? Who survived that?"

Urahara spoke while he pulled up several files on the computer. One of them was a picture of a teenage girl that looked around 18 with red hair that went down to her shoulders, light olive skin, and piercing emerald green eyes with a sad smile on her face. "A woman called Elizabeth Green. She was the lone person that walked out of the smoldering crater that was left of hope, Idaho. And she was the key to what happened in New York when the infection hit."

Everyone looked confused by that statement. "How? How could that one woman be responsible for what happened?" Uryu asked looking calm and collected as always while inside he was reeling like everyone else there.

"When Black Watch found Green, they made an incredible discovery. Her body had somehow become a container for the virus. She could carry it and not be changed like the others. But she was driven insane by the virus, and everything she touched became infected. She also produced several different viruses with a 99.999% mortality rate. And the final key that made it possible for the Blacklight virus to be born was that Green had been pregnant when the infection was unleashed."

They looked like they had been hit over the head with a sledge hammer. "What?"

"When Green gave birth, the child was named PARIAH, and his body was nothing but a virus producing machine like his mother, but it only produced one strain. He was alive in the same way a virus could live.

And his blood and DNA crawled with nothing but PURE Blacklight. The company Gentek and Black Watch attempted to make the virus watered down enough that humans could be infected and yet remain in control and use the virus to enhance their physical abilities, everything from strength and speed, to enhance healing until it could look like high speed regeneration. None of the tests worked. Until Mercer released the virus on the city."

They watched as he brought up several videos on the screen. The first showed Alex Mercer's body lying in the morgue about to be open up by the doctor when he suddenly gasped and sat up.

The next showed mercer as he fought his way through New York, fighting the infected, the creatures that Urahara called Hunters, Hydra's, and walkers, Black Watch soldiers and vehicles, and then Green and what had been called the Supreme hunter, All while using weapons that appeared to grow out of his arms and looked organic, and enhanced strength and speed on par with a 5th seat Shinigami. Finally it showed him as he hijacked the nuke meant to be used on New York and flew it out to sea, where it detonated.

They all stood there feeling a little dizzy from what they had learned and seen. In fact when the last video was showed they all walked to a nearby table and sat down in the chairs there. They were joined by Urahara and the commander while they waited for them to overcome their shock and speak.

Ichigo simply looked at the table, his mind being both slow and lightning fast as he processed what he had seen.

He felt sickened from what the tapes had shown, of Black Watch gunning down innocent people that happened to be in the infected zones, regardless of anything you could think of. The worst image from those clips was the one where a Black Watch solider had taken his gun and shot a toddler that had been crying besides an overturned car in the zones through the head. And the look of being scared on the child's face as the light faded from their eyes was what had shaken him to the core. He felt Zangestu's and even his own inner hollow's anger at what had been done of free will.

He had looked around after that and seen tears pouring out of Orihime's eyes while she held both cupped hands to her mouth to keep in a sob, chad looking on with tears and righteous anger as he clenched his fists, Uryū looking on with shock at the cold calculating attitude of Black watch, and even Rukia and Renji, who had grown up in one of the poorest and hardest places in soul society and spent more time fighting then any of his other friends, looking on in cold anger while simply letting tears flow like rivers down their faces. Yamamoto had not bothered to hide his anger and sorrow at the loss of innocent life while his eyes glared at the screen and his hands clenched and almost broke the top of his cane. Even Kisuke had shown anger that had dwarfed the fire of the nuke that had gone off.

But more than, that he didn't know what to feel as to what Mercer had done. He had been the root of so many lives lost. He had fought Black Watch and hijacked the nuke to save all those lives yes. Yet he had consumed so many in the fight. He had consumed Black Watch, Infected, and innocent civilians when he had to. He was like an all-consuming hunger that could and would never be satisfied with what he had done. And he and the virus had to be stopped. At all costs.

"Commander."

They all looked to Ichigo as he stood up with anger and determination in his face and tears in his eyes while clenching his fists till they looked harder than stone.

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say we'll gladly take this assignment if it means destroying that evil scumbag once and for all."

He looked at his friends and saw the same look on their faces. Even Uryu looked on in open anger and determination to see this evil sent back to whatever level of hell it had crawled out of. They all turned and nodded.

Ichigo asked the question they were all thinking. "When is the soonest we can leave?"

The commander looked in his face and saw that with what he now had expected to see. The anger and need to do justice to all those who had been killed by Blackwatch. And the desire to protect others from that evil. And nothing, not even death or god himself, would stop him until that was completed.

"Within an hour and a half. Kisuke had made special Gigai that will allow you to look human while still being able to access your power and sword. When not needed, the sword will simply disappear. Also you will have the power to turn invisible when needed and perform any and every spell you know. Furthermore you will be able to understand and speak any language. As for you friends who can't use Gigai they will have small painless modifications made to their brains to understand and speak any language as well."

They all nodded. They would do anything needed to get to New York and put an end to this evil. Then Ichigo heard the voice of his sword's spirit, Zangestu.

"Ichigo when you have a chance, you need to visit your inner world. We have much to discuss."

"Very well."

 **A/N: Here's Chapter 5**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I own nothing.

While Ichigo waited for his friends he sat down on the floor in a corner of the lab they were still in, he took his sword, placed it flat across his folded legs, and then meditated to enter his inner world.

(Ichigo's inner world)

He opened his eyes and sat up to find himself sitting on a sky scraper as he stood up on the glass windows looking down at the street easily 30 stories below.

"Hello Ichigo. Welcome back"

He turned to see Zangestu standing there. He was a lean-built, and stoic middle-aged man. He had pale skin, high cheekbones, stubble, and long ragged black hair with brown highlights. His attire consisted of a tattered white dress shirt with an upturned collar and cuffs, black pants, low-heeled boots, and a long, amorphous black overcoat with a burgundy highlight that flares out into ragged ends. He wore his usual brown-tinted, semi-transparent wraparound sunglasses. He looked grim and very angry.

"Hello Zangestu. What did you want to talk about?"

"While I did ask you to come here, it's not I who want to talk but him."

Ichigo frowned a little. He never liked his inner hollow as the bastard was arrogant, rude, and sadistic. Not to mention he had a foul mouth that not even his dead mother wouldn't want to be kissed with.

Ichigo sighed. "Ok where is he?"

"Right behind you."

He turned to see himself. His hollow was dressed in the same clothes as him but everything about him was white. His skin, hair, and even clothes were whiter then chalk. The only thing with color was his eyes. They were black pupils with white irises and black sclera. He also had a photonegative of Zangestu on his back. His eyes were usually mocking and arrogant but this time the look was different. They looked angry and a hint of something he thought his hollow was incapable of. Sadness.

"What do you want?"

His white opposite looked at him calmly and with eyes that narrowed slightly.

"To help you fight those bastards who did those unspeakable things. I may be a lot of things, but I am not someone who will kill an innocent child like that bastard did. And I will do what it takes to make them pay, the same as I want to help you learn some new powers."

Ichigo was surprised that his hollow was talking like that. The guy loved killing, he lived for nothing but battle as he often said he was pure instinct. But apparently even he had moral limits and what they had seen had crossed even those. Then he looked at the hollow and felt suspicious.

"How do I know you won't try to take me over when fighting them? For that matter, why would you want to train me willingly? In the past, to gain any power from you I had to beat it out of you."

Hollow Ichigo nodded. They were all true and he wouldn't deny those claims. "True. But in the past, that was when you were fighting for things I didn't care about. But this is different. Like I said, I'm many things but even I wouldn't kill innocent children like that. And those organizations, along with those infected abominations, look powerful. You're going to need all the power you can get in order to take them down completely. And that's where I come in. I'm planning to teach you a manner of Arrancar abilities. The ones I'm planning to teach you are Cero, Gran Rey Cero, Hierro, and Pesquisa. With those close to nothing will be able to hurt you."

Ichigo was still unsure about this. His hollow was known for having a condition attached to using his power and this sounded too good to be true.

"In exchange for what?"

What happened next was shocking. The hollow got down on one knee, bowed his head and spoke what he wanted.

"In exchange, when you're in an area where there is nothing but Black Watch or infected, I want you to let me out to fight them. I will not hurt you friends, or allies, but I will eradicate those monsters. If I break those conditions then I will never try to take over your body or mind, but give myself, and my power, to you to do what you want with. Zangestu will help make sure I keep up my end of the deal. Agreed?"

Ichigo took a look at Zangestu. He had said nothing since his hollow appeared. But he looked Ichigo straight in his eyes and nodded. He would see to it that he upheld his side. And not once, since he had met the old man, had he broken a deal, or allowed one to be broken.

Ichigo held out his hand as his hollow looked up at him.

"Agreed. So where do you want to start training and when?"

The hollow took his hand and stood up.

"The best place and time would be the 8th level of the underground prison. The cero alone with your current sprit power could be on level with a Gran Rey cero. And we're going to need more space than anywhere else in soul society to train without hurting anybody."

Ichigo nodded. That made sense. The commander had given him permission to use the 8th level of the Shinigami prison at any time to test and harness his spells better without causing any damage to the outside. And since it was infinitely open, his power could be unleashed without fear of hurting innocents.

"All right. Well I'll head straight there."

And with that he exited his inner world.

(Real world)

Ichigo took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He stood up and went to find Kisuke to let him know where he would be until it was time to leave for the world of the living.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I own nothing**

Ichigo stood in the door way to the 8th level of the underground prison. The name of this level was Muken or void space. It was nothing but an endless place that one could get lost in forever and yet be unable to die if you didn't know the way out. Thankfully since this is where the commander had trained him in sword work, he knew he could easily get out.

"Okay. I'm here what now?"

His hollow answered him quickly. They only had 45 minutes to work, so they had to move fast if he would master this.

"Picture me standing in front of you with Zangestu and you can manifest me in the real world. We can begin training then."

Ichigo did as his hollow asked and sure enough a white light shot out of his sword and manifested itself as his hollow holding his photonegative version of Zangestu.

"Now we can begin. We'll start with cero. Now it's simply in idea, but its executing it that's the problem. Now think of it like when you fire a Getsuga Tensho. Except focus the spirit energy in your finger and slowly increase it until I tell you to stop."

Ichigo did as his hollow asked. As he focused his spirit energy in his pointer finger and he held the other fingers in a fist while getting into a secure stance so the blow back wouldn't catch him off guard. As he focused his power in his finger tip, a small red ball formed in the air directly in front of the finger. He slowly increased the power flow into it and the ball began to grow from being marble size to the size of a golf ball, then baseball. Growing overconfident, he increased the power even more, but then he lost control of the flow. It began to grow too fast to handle. Soon it was the size of a basketball.

"DAMN IT! RELEASE IT!"

"HOW!?" He was scared as the power made it feel like his hand was about to explode.

"CUT THE FLOW OF POWER AND PUSH IT OUT, LIKE YOU DO WHEN YOU USE KIDO!"

Ichigo managed to cut the flow and pushed with all his might. "CEERROO!"

The ball of energy flew about a half mile away. Then it exploded in a pillar of red light as high as a skyscraper and 30 feet wide. The blast of air arrived in less than half a second and sent Ichigo and his hollow flying backwards. They hit the ground hard and stayed there as debris rained down and dust covered them in the next second. After a minute, the winds died down and both of them stood up coughing. They walked to the hole and looked down into it. It went down too far for them to see the bottom but the carter it left was easily a mile wide.

'Whoa' that was all Ichigo could think as he looked at what he had made. That hadn't even been a Gran Rey Cero. How much power would that have had if he executed that?

The next thing he knew was being hit in the back of the head by the hilt of his hollow's sword. And he didn't restrain his strength so that hurt like hell.

"OOWW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" he yelled as he rubbed the spot he got hit.

His hollow looked livid.

"What the hell happened to 'slowly increase the power until I tell you to stop'? That blast could have killed us both if it was any stronger. This is dangerous stuff that will kill us if you don't listen to me and follow my directions. So take that pride of yours and throw it away until this is done."

Ichigo wanted to make a comeback but couldn't. His hollow was actually right. If he didn't get rid of his pride and listen they could both be killed. So he hung his head and swallowed his pride as he said "yes sir"

"Good to see I finally got through that thick head of yours. Now let's move on. It's obvious you have the cero down but the control needs work. Let's go."

Over the course of the entire training session he had mastered cero, Hierro, and Pesquisa but his hollow refused to let him even try a Gran Rey cero, saying that his cero was strong enough and he didn't need anything stronger than that. His Hierro was strong enough to take everything his hollow threw at him except his strongest cuts and a Bankai Getsuga Tensho, that was strong enough to blast through and leave him with a huge gash across his chest that he was forced to heal. As for his Pesquisa they used to see how far he could sense. So far the current range was 6-7 miles.

"I shouldn't say this since it'll boost your ego, but well done king. You're ready for anything that those bastards in the world of the living can throw at you. Just keep in mind that you can be injured by any explosives or weapons if you get too cocky."

Ichigo felt like he had been running without food for weeks but also felt good at what he had managed to do. And the grin on his face showed he was ready to finally go.

"Thanks for the help. And I'll keep my end of the bargain."

His hollow nodded, satisfied with what he had said. And with that, he turned into a white light and flew back into Ichigo.

With that Ichigo exited the lower levels of the prison and flash stepped to where he and his friends were waiting for him at the official Senkaimon where he and his friends would cross over into the world of the living and the NYZ.


End file.
